How long does an Arizona medical license take?

The Medical Board publishes no processing time, and the osteopathic board tells DO applicants to expect at least three months. By rule, the Medical Board must decide a complete MD file within 240 days and the osteopathic board a DO file within 120, and a board that misses its deadline refunds your fees; while a full application is pending, a physician with an active, unrestricted license elsewhere can hold a $250 temporary license good for up to 250 days. On the compact route, IMLCC’s Year 9 averages were 38 days from application to a Letter of Qualification, then 22 days from qualification to issued licenses.

How much does an Arizona medical license cost?

An MD pays $620 in board, fingerprint, and transcript fees plus a prorated issuance fee of up to $500, so at most $1,120; a DO pays $575 to $695 at published fees, with the osteopathic board prorating its issuance fee by month. Through the IMLC, compact fees are $1,200 for an MD or $1,100 for a DO. Verifications from your other boards, the fingerprint technician’s charge, notary fees, and FCVS if you use it come on top.

Is Arizona in the IMLC?

Yes. Arizona enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact in 2016, both boards issue licenses through it, and either can be your state of principal license, as both have been since September 1, 2017. In IMLCC’s Year 9 (April 2025 to March 2026), the Arizona Medical Board approved 220 Letters of Qualification and issued 907 licenses through the compact, and the osteopathic board approved 35 and issued 156. Arizona’s compact law also carries a conditional repeal: Arizona withdraws immediately if a compact commission rule or decision, or a court ruling, would change Arizona physicians’ scope of practice or the definition of unprofessional conduct in a way inconsistent with its abortion laws. On the verified date, the Legislative Council listed no repeal date, and IMLCC and both boards showed Arizona active.

Do MDs and DOs apply to the same board in Arizona?

No. MDs apply to the Arizona Medical Board and DOs to the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Medicine and Surgery, under separate laws, rules, and fees: $500 to apply as an MD against $400 as a DO, and $500 against $636 to renew every two years. The osteopathic board accepts USMLE as well as COMLEX-USA, passed within 7 years of applying unless you meet its practice equivalency, and only MDs complete the Medical Board’s training unit.

Do I need an Arizona license to treat Arizona patients by telehealth?

Not always: with a current, unrestricted license in another state and no past or pending discipline anywhere, you can register as an out-of-state telehealth provider instead, for $500 at the Medical Board or $300 a year under the osteopathic board’s rules. The registration bars an Arizona office, outside a multistate group with an Arizona-licensed provider, and any in-person care in Arizona, and it takes liability coverage, an Arizona statutory agent, and a yearly report of your Arizona patients and encounters. Fewer than ten telehealth encounters in a calendar year, emergencies, and consultation with an Arizona provider who keeps authority over the patient need no registration.

Can I use Arizona’s universal recognition law?

Only if you move to Arizona: universal recognition requires establishing Arizona residence, or being the spouse of an active duty service member stationed here, plus at least one year of licensure in another state, in good standing. At the Medical Board it costs the same $500 application fee and issuance fee of up to $500 as the standard license, and the license is valid only in Arizona and does not make you eligible for the IMLC.

Can I work locums in Arizona on a locum tenens registration?

Only for up to 180 days (MD) or 90 days (DO), substituting for or assisting a specific Arizona physician who sponsors you. The Medical Board’s registration is available once every three years, costs $400 with fingerprints, can take as long to process as a full license, and does not qualify you for an Arizona DEA number; the osteopathic board’s can be extended once for 90 more days, at $300 each plus the $50 fingerprint fee.

Does Arizona require fingerprints or a jurisprudence exam?

Fingerprints, yes; a jurisprudence exam, no. Every direct MD and DO applicant submits a fingerprint card for the state and FBI check with a $50 board fee: the Medical Board mails its own pre-printed card within 24 hours of receiving your application and says processing can take up to 6 weeks, and the osteopathic board takes a standard card. MDs also complete the Medical Board’s free Medical Practice Act training unit, which has no passing score.

Is FCVS required in Arizona?

No. Both boards accept an FCVS profile for items such as your school, training, and exam records, but neither requires one; it costs $395, and the osteopathic board does not accept it in place of state license verifications.

What does staying licensed in Arizona involve?

Renewal every two years ($500 for MDs by their birthday, $636 for DOs by December 31), 40 CME hours per cycle, including 3 hours on opioids, substance use disorder, or addiction for every DO and for MDs with Schedule II DEA authority, prescription monitoring registration and checks before opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions, and a separate $888 DEA registration for Arizona.

Arizona physician license: fees, timeline, requirements, and common delays

Arizona licenses MD and DO physicians through two boards, the Arizona Medical Board and the Board of Osteopathic Examiners, both issuing licenses directly or through the IMLC. Applying directly, an MD pays $620 in board, fingerprint, and transcript fees plus an issuance fee of up to $500, and a DO $575 to $695 at published fees. Compact fees are $1,200 (MD) or $1,100 (DO). The Medical Board publishes no processing time; the osteopathic board says to expect at least three months. By rule, a complete MD file must be decided within 240 days, a DO file within 120. The friction is verification: every board that has ever licensed you and every employer of the past 5 years (7 for DOs) must report directly.

Arizona at a glance.

License: License to practice medicine (MD) or osteopathic medicine (DO)
MD and DO: Two boards: the Arizona Medical Board for MDs, the Board of Osteopathic Examiners for DOs
IMLC: Member state, issuing licenses. Enacted 2016; both boards have taken SPL applications since September 1, 2017
FCVS: Accepted by both boards, required by neither
Uniform Application: Not used
Fingerprints: Required: a fingerprint card for the state and FBI check, plus $50 to the board
Jurisprudence exam: None; MDs complete a free Medical Practice Act training unit
Interview: Not routine; either board can require one
Board fee: MD $500, plus up to $500 at issuance; DO $400, plus a listed $60 to $180 at issuance
Renewal: Every two years: MD $500 by your birthday, DO $636 by December 31
CME: 40 hours every two years at both boards

Which route fits.

MDs file with the Arizona Medical Board and DOs with the osteopathic board, directly or through the IMLC, and each board licenses only its own degree. Physicians who will treat Arizona patients only by telehealth may register instead of licensing, and universal recognition is open only to physicians who move to Arizona.

The MD license.

Who it fits: MDs who will treat Arizona patients in person, or by telehealth without qualifying for the registration. You need USMLE or an accepted older exam combination and, as a US or Canadian graduate, an approved 12-month internship, residency, or fellowship; Arizona law sets no exam-attempt limit, and the board cannot require board certification.
The trade-off: $620 plus an issuance fee of up to $500, and a file the board accepts only from primary sources: your school, each training program, your exam scores, every board that has licensed you, and every employer of the past 5 years. The board’s rule gives it 240 days to decide once the file is complete.

Licensing board: Arizona Medical Board.

The DO license.

Who it fits: DOs from AOA-approved osteopathic schools with one approved year of internship or residency and COMLEX-USA or USMLE passed within 7 years of applying. DOs whose exams are older can qualify through the board’s practice equivalency, which includes clinical practice in 7 of the last 10 years and a completed specialty board certification exam.
The trade-off: $575 to $695 at published fees, verifications from every state that has licensed you and every facility or employer of the past 7 years, and a fast first renewal: a license issued from January to September expires that December 31, when the $636 two-year renewal is due.

Licensing board: Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Medicine and Surgery.

The IMLC.

Who it fits: Physicians whose state of principal license is another member state and who meet the compact’s terms, which include specialty certification. Arizona can also be your state of principal license, through either board, to add other member states.
The trade-off: Compact fees of $1,200 for an MD or $1,100 for a DO, most of it the $700 IMLCC fee, against $620 plus up to $500 (MD) or $575 to $695 (DO) to apply directly. Adding Arizona to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs $600 or $500.

Out-of-state telehealth registration.

Who it fits: Physicians who will treat Arizona patients only by telehealth, with a current, unrestricted license in another state and no past or pending discipline anywhere. Fewer than ten telehealth encounters in a calendar year, emergencies, and consultation with an Arizona provider who keeps authority over the patient need no registration at all.
The trade-off: $500 at the Medical Board; for DOs, the osteopathic board’s rules set $300 a year, though its licensure pages link no application for it. You cannot keep an Arizona office, outside a multistate group with an Arizona-licensed provider, or see patients in person in Arizona, and you need liability coverage, an Arizona statutory agent, and a yearly report of your Arizona patients and encounters.

Universal recognition.

Who it fits: Physicians moving to Arizona: you must establish residence here, or be the spouse of an active duty service member stationed here, and have held a license in another state for at least a year, in good standing everywhere, with no pending complaint.
The trade-off: At the Medical Board, the same fees as the standard license, and a checklist that asks for proof of Arizona residence rather than school, training, or exam verifications, which the state that licensed you verifies instead. The license is valid only in Arizona and does not make you eligible for the IMLC.

What it costs.

MD license, Arizona Medical Board
Application fee	$500
License issuance fee, prorated by birth year and month	Up to $500
Fingerprint processing	$50
USMLE transcript (FSMB)	$70
All-in	$620 plus the issuance fee, up to $1,120
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

DO license, Board of Osteopathic Examiners
Application fee	$400
License issuance fee, prorated by month of issuance	$60 to $180
Fingerprint processing	$50
COMLEX-USA transcript (NBOME)	$65
All-in	$575 to $695 at published fees
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

The IMLC route, MD or DO
IMLCC fee	$700
Arizona license fee, from the IMLCC fee table	$500 (MD) or $400 (DO)
All-in	$1,200 (MD) or $1,100 (DO)
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

Out-of-state telehealth registration
Medical Board registration (MD)	$500
Osteopathic board registration (DO), each year	$300
All-in	$500 (MD) or $300 a year (DO)
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

Board fees go to the Arizona Medical Board or the osteopathic board, and both boards’ rules make them nonrefundable, except that Arizona law refunds them when a board misses its deadline to decide. The Medical Board also keeps the application fee if you withdraw or it withdraws your file for missing items, and its issuance fee is due within 35 days of approval. The osteopathic board prorates its listed $180 issuance fee by the month you request issuance: $180 in January, $15 less each month to $60 in September, and $180 from October to December. Transcript fees go to FSMB or NBOME. On the IMLC route, the $700 goes to IMLCC, which calls every compact fee nonrefundable; adding Arizona to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs a $100 handling fee plus the state fee. Arizona law also waives initial license fees for first-time Arizona applicants who are spouses of active duty service members, veterans honorably discharged within the past two years, or at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines in family income.

Left out of every total: verifications from every other board that has licensed you, at each board’s own fee; the fingerprint technician’s charge and notary fees, which neither board publishes; FCVS if you choose it ($395), which already includes your transcripts; ECFMG’s $70 status report for international graduates; SPEX, if the Medical Board requires it for exams more than 10 years old; and a dispensing registration if you dispense from your own office (MD $200, then $150 a year; DO $240 a year). On the IMLC route, fingerprints and verifications run through your state of principal license, at its fees. A telehealth registration also needs liability coverage and an Arizona statutory agent, priced by their providers.

Fees change; verified October 25, 2026.

How long it takes.

240 daysMedical Board deadline to decide an MD applicationThe board’s rule, set under Arizona’s licensing time-frame law, allows 240 calendar days, 120 for administrative review and 120 for substantive review, counted from when it has your application and every required document; if it misses the deadline, the law requires it to refund your fees and keep processing the file.Statutory deadline
120 daysOsteopathic board deadline to decide a DO applicationThe board’s rule under the same law allows 120 calendar days from receipt of your application, 30 for administrative completeness and 90 for substantive review, with the same refund if it misses them; you and its executive director can agree in writing to extend the substantive review and overall deadline by up to 25 percent.Statutory deadline
At least 3 monthsOsteopathic board, the whole DO applicationThe board’s FAQ tells applicants to expect the application process to take at least three months.Board-published
At least 60 to 90 daysGathering a DO file’s documentsThe osteopathic board’s average time to collect the supporting documents a complete application needs; its executive director and board then take 1 to 90 days for the substantive review.Board-published
Up to 6 weeksFingerprint card processingThe Medical Board’s published time from the day it receives your card; the osteopathic board says 3 to 6 weeks on average, though the FBI has 120 days for its part.Board-published
40 daysMedical Board deadline for a telehealth registrationThe board’s rule under the same time-frame law allows 40 calendar days, 20 for administrative review and 20 for substantive review.Statutory deadline
30 daysDecision on a temporary licenseArizona law gives either board 30 days after a complete temporary license application to approve or deny it, extendable by 30 more to receive verifications.Statutory deadline
38 daysIMLC, application to Letter of QualificationIMLCC’s Year 9 average, April 2025 to March 2026, from application received to Letter of Qualification issued, across 10,837 completed applications; 55% took 30 days or less.IMLCC average
22 daysIMLC, qualification to licenses issuedIMLCC’s Year 9 average for the next stage, from qualification to the requested state licenses; 47% received them in 7 days or less. The two stages are separate averages, not a total.IMLCC average

The Medical Board publishes no processing time of its own. Under Arizona’s time-frame law, both boards’ deadlines stop running while a board waits for your answers to its requests, and a file left incomplete for about a year is withdrawn or closed. The Medical Board warns that gaps in practice or licensure can extend its processing and bring requests for more documents or evaluations. While a full application is pending, a physician with an active, unrestricted license elsewhere can hold a $250 temporary license from either board, good for up to 250 days and not renewable. No board guarantees a date.

What the file involves.

An MD file moves between 8 parties besides you, more with each extra program, board, or employer, and 11 core document types. A DO file has 8 parties and 11 document types too, with practice verifications reaching back 7 years instead of 5. International MD graduates add ECFMG. On the IMLC route, the Arizona file involves 3 parties: IMLCC, your state of principal license, and the Arizona board; a telehealth registration also involves 3: the Medical Board, your liability insurer, and an Arizona statutory agent.

Your medical schoolVerifies your medical degree directly to the board.
Each postgraduate training programVerifies each program you attended directly to the board; the osteopathic board wants every one, completed or not.
FSMB or NBOMESends your USMLE or COMLEX-USA scores directly to the board.
Every board that has licensed youVerifies each medical license you have ever held, whatever its status.
Your employers and practice sitesConfirm your medical employment for the past 5 years (MD) or your practice at each facility and employer for the past 7 years (DO).
A fingerprint technicianRolls your prints on the board’s card for the Arizona Department of Public Safety and FBI check.
A notary publicNotarizes the attestation you sign with your application.
Your Arizona boardReviews the complete file, can call an interview, and issues the license.

Postgraduate training, MD: An approved 12-month internship, residency, or fellowship for US and Canadian graduates. International graduates also need ECFMG certification or a listed alternative and, under a 2025 amendment, enrollment in an approved 24-month program on top of the 12 months, rather than all 36 months completed; the board’s June 2025 checklist, from before the change took effect, says 36 months.
Postgraduate training, DO: One approved year: an internship, or the first year of an AOA or ACGME residency in any specialty. A year or more of AOA or ACGME fellowship training, or current AOA specialty certification, can stand in.
Exams, MD: USMLE Steps 1 to 3, or an accepted older combination such as FLEX or NBME parts, with no attempt limit in Arizona’s law or rules. For exams more than 10 years old, the board may require a special purpose exam, which current ABMS certification or a passing SPEX score satisfies.
Exams, DO: All levels of COMLEX-USA or all three USMLE steps, passed within 7 years of applying, with no attempt limit in Arizona’s law or rules. Otherwise the board’s practice equivalency applies: clinical practice in at least 7 of the last 10 years, a completed specialty board certification exam, at least 40 CME hours in the 2 years before applying, and an active license held until the board decides.
Board certification: Neither board can require it for a license, though it counts toward the Medical Board’s 10-year exam look-back and the osteopathic board’s practice equivalency. The IMLC requires it.
Time out of practice: The osteopathic board treats physicians who have not practiced clinical medicine for more than 2 years, even if licensed elsewhere, as re-entering practice: they attend a board meeting and set a re-entry plan, which can include an exam, CME, a practice assessment, or supervision. The Medical Board sets no fixed threshold but says gaps in practice or licensure can extend processing and bring requests for evaluations.

We run the Arizona file.

We do

Confirm the right board and route, whether a direct license, the IMLC, universal recognition, or a telehealth registration, before anything is filed.
Prepare the application for the Arizona Medical Board or the osteopathic board and check every answer against its current rules.
Request and chase every verification the boards accept only from the source: your school, each training program, your exam scores, every board that has licensed you, and your employers.
Coordinate your fingerprint card, the Medical Board’s own or a standard card for the osteopathic board, and track the results until they reach the board.
Answer every board request and follow the file until the license issues.

You do

Share your credentials and license history once, in our secure portal.
Approve your application answers and sign the attestations, which both boards want notarized.
Have your fingerprints rolled on the board’s card, in person.
If you are an MD, complete the Medical Board’s Medical Practice Act training unit and attest to it.
Appear for an interview if a board calls one.

Get My Licensing Plan

Staying licensed.

Renewal cycle: Every two years. MD licenses renew on or before your birthday every other year for $500, or $850 more than 30 days late, and expire four months after the birthday if not renewed. DO licenses renew by December 31 for $636, or $811 with the late fee, and expire May 1 if not renewed; a DO license issued from January to September comes due that same December 31. Licenses issued through the compact renew through IMLCC.
CME: 40 hours every two years at both boards. MDs can count Category 1 credit and activities such as teaching, publishing, and journal reading, and those with a DEA registration who can prescribe Schedule II drugs need 3 hours on opioids, substance use disorder, or addiction each cycle. DOs need at least 24 hours in AOA Category 1-A, no more than 16 in AMA Category 1, and the same 3 hours whether or not they hold a DEA registration; the osteopathic board says a first renewal needs 20 hours, 12 of them in Category 1-A.
State controlled-substance registration: None. Arizona has no separate state controlled-substance registration; your license and DEA registration carry prescribing authority. Dispensing from your own office takes a separate board registration (MD $200, then $150 a year; DO $240 a year), and an initial Schedule II opioid prescription is limited to a 5-day supply, or 14 days after surgery, with exceptions.
Prescription monitoring: Register with the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program (CSPMP), run by the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy, if you hold or plan to apply for a DEA registration in Arizona; telehealth registrants register before prescribing a controlled substance. Since September 12, 2026, check the patient’s 12-month report before each prescription and refill of a Schedule II to IV opioid analgesic or benzodiazepine, with exceptions such as hospice, palliative, and cancer care and up to 5 days after a painful procedure.
DEA registration: $888 for three years, with a separate registration for Arizona.
E-prescribing: Required for Schedule II opioid prescriptions, with exceptions such as system outages, VA, military, and tribal facilities, and medication-assisted treatment.
Medical Practice Act training unit: MDs complete and attest to the Medical Board’s training unit again at every renewal.
Reporting duties: Report a criminal charge to your board in writing within 10 working days. MDs also report an address change promptly, and the Medical Board can impose a penalty of up to $100 after 30 days.